Land Rover celebrates production of 1,000,000th Discovery

LAND ROVER has celebrated another major landmark with the production of its 1,000,000th Discovery vehicle.

The Discovery made its debut 23 years ago and since then has been sold into 170 markets around the world.

In a special ceremony at Land Rover’s Lode Lane production facility in Solihull attended by 1,200 Land Rover workers and management together with some celebrity Discovery users, the vehicle was hailed as the best all-round car in the world today.

The gathered workers heard Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth praise them for their passion and flexibility and for playing a vital role in not just the success of the Discovery but the company as a whole.

“This is good news for the UK, the West Midlands and for Solihull. We are investing like never before in our future and much of that is reflected in Solihull where we are extending production facilities as part of that multi-million pound investment,” he said.

The plant has completed recruitment of a further 1,000 workers – positions which were oversubscribed 20 times – and now employs around 6,000 people.

The ceremony was attended by leading adventurers Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bear Grylls, Ray Mears, Monty Halls and Ben Saunders – all of whom have used Discoverys in the course of their expeditions.

After delivering their unique endorsement, the ceremony was told about the fate of the 1,000,000 vehicle.

Rather than be retired to a museum, the vehicle will today embark on an 8,000 overland drive from Birmingham to Beijing. The purpose being to raise £1m for JLR’s Global Humanitarian Partner, the International Federation of Red Cross and  Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The money will be used to support a much needed water sanitation project in Uganda.

The 50-day ‘Journey of Discovery’ will be undertaken by three Discovery vehicles travelling through more than a dozen countries across Europe and Central Asia, culminating at the Beijing motor show on April 23.